Anger

The Year is 53,429. Fifty-two years before the assault on Syzygy.

*-BANG-BANG-BANG-*

The banging noise that woke up Robert in the morning was his master knocking on his door, trying to wake him up.

"Wake up, kid. Narfi needs breakfast. If you do well, ya might earn ya wage for once."

Robert rubbed his eyes and looked around his drafty, empty room. The smell of dust and an old candle were the only things currently hitting his nose at the moment. The candle had gone out, and Robert stared at its smoke still drifting off the wick.

Robert thought to himself, *Welp. Guess I have to work again. I don't know who said those things are dangerous to keep running at night. They lied to me.*

The thirteen-year-old Robert got up out of his bed and changed into the few pieces of clothing that he had. He hadn't had time to iron his clothing, so it was full of wrinkles and uncomfortable to wear. He looked outside the window. Four AM. He still saw the moon. The light shone on his iris because his own eyes didn't have a light to shine back—he was a Corrupted Godling.

He left his room and saw his master in his cloak, already ready to go to Logios Academy, as he was its headmaster.

Robert looked at him and said, "Good morning, Master. I hope your night went well. What would you like me to make you for breakfast?"

The Headmaster responded, "The usual, kid. Don't worry too much. I'm in a rush, so chop-chop. Don't forget to make Narfi his breakfast. I come home and one of the other servants says you didn't because you were 'tired,' you'll go back to the basement. Maybe make that dirty bloodtrait of yours useful and steal some cooking power if you're so damn tired."

Robert softly responded, "Yes, Master. I'm sorry, Master. I'll ensure to never have that happen again, Master."

The Headmaster looked down at Robert with a stoic, emotionless look, but his eyes shimmered in the dark, drafty hallway of the giant mansion. He looked at Robert and simply said, "Good."

Robert went towards the kitchen and spent the next three hours cooking food for the mansion. First for the family, then for the pets, then for the servants, and now finally for himself. His stomach rumbled loudly as he was finally able to make his own food. By now, Narfi had woken up and sat down at the table, eating his breakfast with his mother. He looked at how tired Robert was as he finished making his own food.

"HEY, ROBERT! GOOD MORNING! Come sit down with us. You excited for school? I can't wait to see my exam scores. I know I did great. I have to if I'm gonna be the next Headmaster, right? No son of mine will be as dumb as a lightless, like my father says. Hahaha."

Narfi's mother said, "Sigh. Narfi, how many times will I have to tell you that the servants do not eat at the table with us?"

Narfi quickly snapped back, "He's not just some servant, Mom. He's my friend. How many times will I have to tell you that?"

Narfi's mom exclaimed disappointedly, "Yes, yes. I understand that's how you feel, dear. But the look your father gives whenever he hears you say that kind of scares me. Just please don't call him that in public, especially since most people haven't even seen his well… kind. It'd hurt your dad's reputation."

Narfi reclaimed, "Mom, I'm sorry, but I don't care what Dad says. He doesn't understand anything. Just because he's the Headmaster doesn't mean he's always right."

His mother sighed again and said, "Just don't purposefully try to anger him, or I'll never hear the end of it tonight. And I quite like my sleep. Even the gods needed it, so we do too, even as Godlings."

Narfi responded, "Yeah, yeah, whatever. COME OVER HERE, ROBERT."

Robert looked over at Narfi's mother in the eyes, and she looked back at him as she pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed.

"Your father is gone now. Fine."

Robert shakenly grabbed his food and placed it on the table and ate his breakfast with the three of them. When they finished, Narfi and him went to wash up and get ready for school. Robert changed out of his servant clothing and into his school uniform. The two of them left the house, and when they exited, they saw someone sat on the stairs of the mansion. It was Lauren, Narfi's childhood friend and future wife, as their marriage had already been arranged.

Lauren saw them leave the house and yelled out happily, "Narfi! Robert! HEYYY! You took so damn long to get out of the house. I thought you two had forgotten you had school today again. You never get in trouble for it. Hmphh. Privilege of the Headmaster's son. You might as well be the prince of this damn place."

Narfi responded, "You say that like you aren't engaged to be my wife and don't have the same privileges, dummy."

Lauren responded, "The topic is not about me. It's about you. Don't try to change it. Hehe. Hey, Robert, you look so tired. Don't tell me the Headmaster had you making breakfast for everyone in that mansion again."

Robert somberly responded, "It's fine. It's my job. I should just get to sleep earlier, I guess. Or maybe if I do a better job, I can get some help so I don't have to wake up so early."

Narfi responded, "That's not fair, though. I don't know why my dad doesn't like you so much."

Lauren gave Narfi a look, and Robert responded, "We know very well why your dad doesn't like me, Narfi. Only reason I'm even still here is because of you. I probably would have been thrown out to the street a while ago if it wasn't the case."

Lauren spoke up and said, "And I hate that. It's not fair. Just because your parents made a dumb choice and had you doesn't mean you deserve this kind of scrutiny. If I see anyone say shit, I promise on the street while we walk to school, I swear I'LL KNOCK 'EM OUT!"

Robert laughed and smirked for the first time that day and said, "Thanks, Lauren. But I don't think that'll be necessary. Let's go to class."

As the three of them walked to school, the very thing Lauren mentioned happened. The other Godlings just kept looking at them and staring at them the entire time they were on the street. Some whispering at each other, others looking at them up and down, and many outright having disgusted looks on their faces. The three of them knew exactly why, and Narfi had to stop Lauren from outright attacking someone a few times.

As they approached the school, Narfi said, "I'm part of the Loki and Hades bloodlines, and they dare look at you like that. Oh, don't worry. When I become Headmaster, they'll sure have it coming. Next time, let's just take the car. Walking is overrated anyways. We can just get a breeze by lowering the window."

Lauren said, "It's like they've never seen someone who isn't exactly like them before. We live for Melania in most cases. Logios Academy might only be Godlings now because of the Five Hundred Years of Terror. But for most of its history, others from other races were also going to this school. I heard that Queen of Evil lady died a few years ago now, so different kinds of students are probs gonna start coming here again anyways. It's just cruel for them to look at you like you're some kind of monster. Dumb bastards."

Robert softly responded, "Yeah, I don't get it either. But hey, what am I gonna do? It's not like the exception to the rule you guys are. Probably because we all grew up together. I wonder how you would feel about me if we hadn't grown up together."

Narfi refuted, annoyed, "OH, shut up. You act like either of us are like those sticks in the mud. I may not be the nicest boy in the world, but at least I ain't them. Give us more credit, ya dingbat."

Lauren responded, "Yeah, Robert. Who do you think I am? We are one in a quintillion. We'd never be like them."

Robert looked down at the ground as a smile grew on his face. He looked up and said, "Yeah, ya know what? You guys are right. I don't know what I'm talking about."

The school day came and went the same as every other day. The students there treated Robert better than the civilians outside. The majority of this school had grown up with each other, so they all knew each other far better than most. Although there were still the outliers that looked at him with disgust. But let me just say… there was a reason Lauren and Narfi had been suspended so many times and had some bruises on their knuckles.

The final bell of the day rang, and Robert went up to his teacher with his failed test and asked her, "Hey, why'd I get judged so harshly on the writing part? I looked at others' tests, and they got higher scores for what I think is just worse work personally."

The teacher sighed and under her breath said, "God, what the hell do you want now, ya damn lightless?"

She turned towards Robert and said, "You were failed because you did badly. It was written bad. I don't care if you think it's good. You aren't the teacher. You aren't the Godling here. So just accept the damn grade and go home to your parents."

Robert responded, "I don't have parents. I never have, and you know that, asshole."

The teacher's eyes narrowed and stared daggers into Robert's eyes. She said, "What did you call me, lightless?"

Robert responded sternly, "That's not my name."

The teacher then responded to him, "I don't give a shit what your name is, lightless. Go to the damn Headmaster's office, creatur—"

Before she could finish her sentence, Narfi had walked into the room and heard her talking the way she was. He used his shadow powers from his Loki bloodline and punched her in the face from across the room.

And now both of them were in the office.

Robert looked at Narfi and said, "Thanks. But now you're in trouble too. That wasn't necessary."

Narfi responded, "Yeah, you're right. You know what? I didn't do ENOUGH! Didn't even knock one of her teeth out. I should have hit her harder."

Robert begrudgingly said, "Thanks, Narfi. Still, now we gotta wait for your dad to come in the room."

Narfi got up from the chairs they were in and walked around the Headmaster's room.

"Oh, whatever. It doesn't matter. You think I care that I'm in trouble? Dad doesn't like me anyways. He's always looked at me like a failure 'cause I don't think like him. He thinks I'm stupid. I wish I had a different dad."

Robert responded, "Your dad doesn't think that of you. He does love you and care about you. He just hates how much time you spend with me. I'm just glad he stopped punishing me for it."

Narfi responded while still looking around the room, "Yeah, I had to negotiate that with him. It was annoying, and he screamed at me for a while. But who gives a shit, right?"

Narfi continued to look around the room, and he noticed something on his father's desk—a floor plan for Logios Academy. Narfi noticed a trap door in the room on the floor plan, as well as what the key for that door looked like. And the fact that it seemed like it led into a basement he had no idea the academy had, even though he was shown the entire thing a few months back. It was big enough for it not to have been built recently. Narfi looked at the key schematics and copied them with his shadow powers, as well as the schematics. He looked at Robert and said with a smirk.

"I know what we're doing tonight."

Robert placed his hands on his face and said, "Oh Lord, no."

Right as Narfi sat back down, his father came into the room and placed his hand on the paper on his desk that had the schematics. It disappeared into his shadow.

He said, "Sorry about that, boys. The room is a bit of a mess, but I have a lot of work to do—being Headmaster and all. When I was a child, I was told how much of the city I would also be responsible for, but man, I didn't think it would actually be this much. No government, my ass. You two were going home. I'm tired. I don't like that lady anyways. She probably deserved it. Hybris bloodline, I swear. So damn annoying. Your girlfriend is just sat outside the door waiting for you, Narfi."

The three of them went home, and Lauren went with them to Narfi's house like how she commonly did. And Narfi laid down the plan: just walk into the place. They all think they're perfect, so there is no security 'cause perfect people don't commit crimes. So the three of them just waltzed into the place in the middle of the night while their parents were sleeping.

As they walked into the place, Lauren kept telling Narfi how dumb of an idea this was, but Narfi kept ignoring her as they walked into the Headmaster's room. They found the trapdoor and opened it.

Robert commented, "Oh my god, you two are gonna get me killed."

Lauren rebutted, "Correction. Narfi is gonna get you and me killed. I am responsible for nothing. I'm just trying to make sure this dumbass doesn't kill himself by accident down here. Narfi, they most likely just forgot to show you, or maybe it was abandoned."

Narfi responded, "Oh, come on. Even if it's just an abandoned building, who cares? It's interesting to go down here and explore anyways. Especially with how damn dark it is down these stairs. It's like we're going down into a mystical dungeon. Hahaha."

As they were walking down, Robert commented, "This place smells weird. It smells earthy and… yuck. Like rotten eggs."

Lauren commented, "Huh. That's the description of a cave, not a dungeon. Where the hell are you taking us, Narfi?"

Narfi responded, "Relax, relax. Don't worry about it. Robert, turn on the flashlight power you have so we can see better when we come down here."

Robert turned his body into a flashlight by illuminating his skin so they could see better. And the first thing they noticed was the blood on the walls. Old, dry blood, as well as scratches everywhere.

Lauren saw that and immediately said to Narfi, "You're going to get us killed, Narfi. This is enough. We should go back home."

Narfi responded, "When my dad came into the room, there were a bunch of documents on his table, and the only one he got rid of when we got in there was that one. There has to be a reason, so I'm gonna continue going down even if you guys come with me or not."

Robert looked at Lauren and said, "I'm not allowed to leave him alone since I'm his servant. His father would have me killed. So I kind of don't have a choice."

Lauren pinched her nose and sighed. "Oh my god, I hate you so damn much sometimes, Narfi. Fine. Fine. Let's go, then. Let's keep going. I'ma get turned into a damn sandwich by whatever monsters are down here."

The lower and lower they got, the worse the smell of rotten eggs got. But something worse happened. The smell of feces started to develop in the air, as well as urine and rotten flesh. Robert and Lauren really didn't want to go, but they kept following Narfi down. And eventually, they finally hit the bottom. They walked through a heavily armored door, and on the other end, it was pure darkness and nothing else, outside of the smells getting worse and worse the longer they stood there.

Robert, while trying not to gag from the smell, brightened the area even more so they could see where the hell they even were. And what they saw caused them all to shake. It felt as if their hearts fell to their stomachs, and Lauren vomited on the floor.

Ten. No, a hundred. No, a thousand. Hell, probably even more Corrupted Godlings. Not one of their eyes shined. Naked. Covered in waste. Looking starved. And some kind of orange energy perpetually coming off their bodies into the ceiling.

Narfi covered his mouth as his body shook, and he quietly said, "What the fuck. WHAT THE FUCK! Oh my god. Oh my god. Why? Why are there so many of them here? I-I thought only you were the only Corrupted Godling in the entire city. Why the hell are there so many here? WHY ARE THERE ANY HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE!"

Lauren, with an angered tone, said to Narfi, "I told you. I TOLD YOU. It was such a bad idea coming here. We gotta go before they have the chance to rush us or something. I don't KNOW! I WANNA GO HOME, NARFI."

Narfi looked over at Robert, who was frozen and not even breathing as he looked at what seemed like thousands of his people thrown away like garbage under the city they lived in. Narfi touched him, and his body wasn't even putting out any heat anymore.

Narfi spoke and said, "Robert, I'm so sorry. Lauren was right. I'm an idiot. We shouldn't have come here."

Robert didn't respond to Narfi speaking. Instead, he started walking forward towards the Corrupted Godlings, no matter the protest of his friends. He got closer and closer, not saying anything. The Godlings themselves started to walk away the closer he got to them—except for one. Someone who looked about middle-aged but still in as bad a state as everybody.

As she walked up, she said as she started crying, "You're alive, Robert. They didn't kill you. And by the gods, look at you. You look so healthy. That makes me so happy. So, so happ—"

Then suddenly, her head popped like a balloon. Three men in giant mechanical suits of armor appeared, and one shot her in the back of the head. Narfi and Lauren saw this and grabbed Robert—now covered in this woman's pieces—as they tried to run towards the door. But one of them grabbed Robert by the back of his clothing, lifted him in the air, and spiked him so hard on the ground that not only did it knock him out, it almost killed him. The other two went and did the same thing to Narfi and Lauren. Narfi was not knocked out immediately but still severely injured. And the last thing he saw before losing consciousness was his father coming out the same door they did.

---

Two weeks later, Robert woke up in a hospital with Narfi's dad sat next to him. The Headmaster gave him a second to get his bearings as he was waking up and spoke to Robert in a slow, stern voice.

"You mention a thing you saw down there, you die. You disappear, and no one will remember you. A conspiracy theory of the Loki household. You live because my offspring wants you to live. The next infarction is your head. Do you understand?"

Robert softly responded, "Yes, Master."

The Headmaster responded, "You'll be here for a couple more days. Thank the stars you aren't down there like the rest of them. And you thought your life was hell. Haha. No one truly knows how good they have it until hell is within their sights. You're smart, right? A genius, even. You've seen this place has no energy sources, but everything still works, right? It's like magic. But magic's not real, so there has to be something powering everything in this city. Corrupted Godlings may be trash, but they're Godling trash. And the soul—the soul is the largest energy source in all of reality. But you already knew that, didn't you, boy?"

---

**Ten Years Later**

"This the final mission, Narfi?"

Narfi responded, "God, I hope so. Oh god, I hope so. Lauren is back in the base. She got really injured last time. She still hasn't woken up. The doctors said she'll be fine, though. I hope they're not lying to me."

Robert responded, "Let's give her a present for when she wakes up. The freedom of the Corrupted Godlings. That would make me happy, at least. Should I press it now? Are we close enough?"

Both Narfi and Robert left a shadow Narfi created. Narfi responded while covering himself in shadow and imbuing his hands with the essence of death.

"Yeah. Press it."

Suddenly, Logios Academy was partially destroyed, and a large amount of the Enforcers that now roamed the halls in the after-hours were killed by the blast. Several windows were destroyed by the shockwave, and everyone near the school at this time went running as the stench of burning holy corpses filled the air.

Freedom Fighters. Or Criminals. Depends on who you are. Those were the titles that had been plastered on the names Narfi, Lauren, and Robert.

As Robert and Narfi rushed the crumbling building, they killed several Enforcers that tried to get in their way. They went towards where his father's office was so they could get back into where the lightless were and save some from their enslavement. As well as replace this damn secret council that were the ones running everything the entire time.

On their way there, they were stopped by Narfi's father himself.

"What a disappointment you've become. You grew up troubled because of that thing that stands next to you. But I still let you keep him—treat him as if he was worth something. But no. Not only did you look the gift horse in the mouth, you punched him there. Your mother is dead because of you, ya know. She gave birth to you, raised you, and this is how you repay her? I've never seen you at her grave, even though I know you travel through the city's shadows. Did she mean nothing to you? You don't deserve to go to her grave anyways."

Narfi responded firmly, "I won't crumble to your weak emotional manipulation, Dad. But you will die today. You knew about all of this, and you did nothing. NOTHING. And calling Robert a thing? Have you LEARNED NOTHING?"

The Headmaster responded, "Oh, children. Even if you win—you won't. The city will fight you. You're fools if you think they're just going to allow you to flip the entire system of power of this entire city. Syzygy only works because of the power funneled from these souls. Anyone can talk a big game about oppression, but the second it stops and it inconveniences their lives, suddenly it's as if they never cared in the first place. Funny, isn't it? Even if the city does find out what's under it, doesn't matter. Godlings don't change. We don't have to. We're perfect."

Narfi and his father clashed in a battle intense but short, because one well-placed shot from Robert with an energy gun bloodtrait he stole shot right through the heart of Narfi's father, killing him right there and then.

Narfi looked over at Robert, tears welling in his eyes, but still gave him a thumbs up. "It was the only way. Moon said, when she declared a war on the world. To kill the ones who stand on your neck. They couldn't, so we will for them. We can't just sit here and wait for her to liberate these guys. We have to ourselves. Rest in piss, old man."

While both of them weren't watching, an entire army of Enforcers came from the streets and rushed the two of them before they could even try to rush down towards the Corrupted Godlings. The two of them fought as valiantly as they could, but it was still just two of them against an entire army. They didn't last long. As they were on the back foot, Narfi only had the energy to create one last shadow. And he used it to teleport Robert away—far, far away, to where the Enforcers couldn't find him.

As Robert fell on the ground, dying and bloodied, he screamed out, "FUCK! DAMN IT! NARFI, NO! You damn idiot."

With the little strength he had, he punched the floor and walked to the nearest town he could. He found an infirmary and stayed there for a while until he was healed. One year had passed since he was transported somewhere—who the hell knows. But in a bar, he looked at the TV, and he saw Narfi on the TV being announced as the new Headmaster. Robert almost choked on his drink as he started cheering that his friend had won while he was gone. And Moon—the legendary Moon—was one of the sentients who stood next to him on the speech on TV that day.

But then he heard the voice of the man sat next to him.

"I don't know why you're celebrating. That whole speech didn't speak your name once. He also didn't mention them once. Yes, he talked about freeing them once he became the Headmaster, but he didn't even mention the lightless once. Did he? Also, TV said he's been Headmaster for a year now. About the time since you were dropped here. Did you see a single lightless in that crowd he was talking to on that TV? Isn't that Moon that stood next to him too? The King Killer has freed everyone except your people. She sure looked quite happy next to his wife Lauren. Guess those of the Hermes bloodline are quick to move on."

As the man took off the robes that covered him, he spoke one more line.

"Don't you find that a little suspicious? The queen of another kingdom stood next to him before the ones he claimed he would save. I think that's a little suspicious, at least. Not even a token one so he could pretend and save face."

Robert responded in perplexity, "Who the hell are you? How do you know me?"

The man said, "The name is Father, Robert. Of course I know who you are. The man who stood next to Narfi to free the lightless under Syzygy. As you've seen, the news from there reaches this dimension. Yet you've never read or seen anything about the lightless roaming the streets of Syzygy. Don't you find that a little… suspicious?"

Robert prepared an energy shot with his bloodtrait and pointed it at the man, getting the attention of the entire bar as he raised his voice and yelled out, "I'll tell you one more time, old man. Who the hell are you? And how do you know me?"

Father responded calmly while taking a sip of his drink. "Yawn. Haha. Put your hand down, lad. I've lived longer than the very dimension we live on. You're too weak to kill me, but I know you're smart. How could I not notice someone so smart as yourself? Let's add some power to that. And maybe some… immortality. So the lightless are never left without a savior again."

Father turned to Robert and placed out his hand. "Ya with me, kid? Your friend didn't do shit. But I can make sure you never need the help of anyone else again to achieve your goals. You just need to help with some stuff first. It's a win-win scenario, boy. Come on. Help an old man out, and he'll help you out."

Robert responded to Father, "Fine. But I have to go see for myself if what you're saying is true."

Father, with a smirk on his face, opened a portal. "I can help with that."

---

**Present Day — Assault on Syzygy Arc**

As Narfi lay bleeding on the ground, his clothing tattered and destroyed, he looked up at Robert with a smirk on his face.

"Imagine if we had looked into the future when we were little and we saw this. Lauren would have beat up the fortune teller for making such an obvious lie. I hope she can finally rest. This assault of yours has killed her and my son. I can tell. I can't feel them anymore."

Robert, not laughing for once, asked Narfi one question. "Why? It's all we wanted when we were younger. So why? WHY DIDN'T YOU SAVE THEM? You became no better than your father. So why? I'll be merciful and at least give you the chance to explain yourself, asshole."

Narfi, with a somber tone, spoke to Robert. "Robert, we aren't kids anymore. My dad was right. The world is not what we thought. Yes, the Corrupted Godlings deserve their freedom. Yes, they deserve to be saved. Yes. But their population compared to the ones of the Godlings is about thirty percent. If we were to free them, all that would have happened was chaos. The Godlings would have fought me. They would have protested. The streets would be chaos. Violence would be everywhere. So much innocent blood on both ends would have been spilt. It wouldn't have been fair to the majority. The cost was too much to pay, especially when the cost was the innocent. I didn't like this option. I didn't like this choice. But these idiots think they're all perfect. They think they have no flaws. They look at all of reality through a lens that just shows them shit that isn't even true. Our ideals were just that—ideals. It doesn't mean it can actually work. We were stupid. We were kids. We were idealists. It's not fair to flip the lives of so many. I hate this damn city, and I hate these damn Godlings. But I can't just throw the lives away of so many on both sides on the MAYBE they'll change. On the MAYBE they'll be different and understand their wrongs. When all of recorded history has told us differently. I'm sorry, old friend. But my responsibility comes before my own wishes. You yourself know how much pain these efforts put on others. I'm no fool myself. I know how you got that immortality charm. The Monster Association? Project Titans? Not only do you work with them, but you've helped them. Because you think at the end of the day more will be saved than you've harmed. You yourself are a fool, Robert. My son and wife's souls rest well. I'll see your souls soon, if an afterlife exists. I'm sorry, Lauren. I should have just listened to you from the start and ran away when we had the chance."

Robert responded somberly, "I thought you were different. I thought you looked at the lightless like they were anyone else because you viewed me as an equal. But it seems you didn't. It doesn't matter if some have to die for liberation. Death is better than life enslaved. Hell, not just enslaved—shoved into a cage with no light. Most of the ones we saw down there had gone blind from the fact that they had not seen light in years. So, so many suffered. So many dying because they weren't considered perfect. Ya know what? I don't believe a single Godling here is innocent. I don't care how young. They all enjoy every single day the benefits of the suffering. If the tears of the innocent replenish you, even if you aren't the one who caused it, your participation makes you just as guilty as the perpetrator. I didn't want to believe Father when he first pointed out that you failed. But all the proof was so damning. I'd be a fool to ignore it just because we were friends. Just because we saw each other as brothers. Our comfort was not worth the deaths and practical torture of so many. And you know that. Things would have had to have gotten worse before they got better. But they would have got better. THEY WOULD HAVE GOT BETTER, NARFI. HahaHA. HAHAHAHAHA. Oh, your weakness makes me laugh. I wish you could have seen the world Sagacity is gonna make. Or at least in the meantime. Seen a world where my kind was free like we wanted. Or at least I thought we wanted to."

Robert spawned a bandaged, floating mummy monster that rushed towards Narfi. Although Narfi did not fear death, he didn't even look at the beast as it rushed towards him. On the contrary, he looked behind the beast, in the sky. He saw a sun with wings flying down towards them.

Narfi smiled and closed his eyes as the memories of when him, Robert, and Lauren were kids flashed through his mind.

He let out his final words. "Good luck, old friend."

Then suddenly, Robert heard the air whistling. As he looked behind him, his face was smashed by Solara's foot, and he flew into the ground. But any injury he got was healed instantly by the immortality charm.

As Solara gained her footing, she looked at Robert and screamed out, "ROOOOOOOOOOOOOBEEEEEERT!"

Robert responded, "Oh, quiet, quiet, Solara Elin LihnRour. Sixty-five is not that old. I can still hear ya without you screaming. Your body is hurt. One of your eyes has been sliced. I recommend you save your energy, little girl."

Solara continued screaming, "You bastard! You fucking bastard! YOU KILLED HIM! The Headmaster! His wife! HIS SON! You know he wanted change, right? You know he knew, and he wanted to change everything his dad failed to. And your damn assault still has caused his death, you filthy bastard. Not just that! So many Godlings and lightless are also dying on the street due to your damn assault. My friends are doing what they can, but all your allies that you've brought with you are making things so hard. They are out there giving their lives to protect everyone. You're causing more harm than you are good. STOP THIS NOW."

Robert responded, "Ha. Ha. HA. HA. HAHAHAHAHAHA. Oh, little hero girl. Of course you think you're right, even when fighting to protect oppressors. You're fighting for the lives of bastards who have done nothing but oppress those they saw as lesser than them. I think they deserve to die for all the innocent blood they've spilled. None of it is innocent on their side. Wasn't it your grandma who said, kill the oppressor standing on your neck?"

Solara angrily responded, "The world she lived in was different, and she never killed the citizens of those kingdoms. I don't agree with her choice to kill, but she's not a monster like you are. Stop trying to paint yourself like some hero."

Robert smugly responded, "Hero? Like you? The one protecting those who sucked the very souls of an entire race? Also, I'm not painting myself as a hero. I AM A HERO. Hero is just a title that can be given and taken. You don't decide if you're a hero. Those you affect decide that. And if you shut up FOR A SECOND and listen to the lightless down there, you'll hear their voices. You'll hear their cries as they repeatedly chant my name while fighting the streets of this unholy city. And who are these innocents chanting against? YOU. Those I'm fighting for, those I'm trying to liberate, have not harmed a single soul. I may not be the hero you wanted, but I'm the hero they deserved."

Solara's heart dropped to her stomach. Her lungs were bleeding. She'd been temporarily blinded in one eye. Several deep cuts and lacerations all over her body. And so many broken bones. Her body ached every time she moved. It was begging her to stop fighting. Yet the injury that hurt the most were Robert's words.

Solara struggled to speak, but she managed to get out, "This is still wrong. You could have told me. You could have told us, and we would have been able to find something as a solution. ANYTHING that wasn't so much bloodshed. In all my nineteen years, I've never seen so much blood. So many dead. It's not fair to anyone down there."

Robert heard her and he laughed. "Lol. LMAO, even. Hahahahahahaha. Man, you're an idiot. I'll never need the help of anyone ever again. I don't need you. Narfi was a brother to me, and he's dead now behind you. You think I care? What do you have to say? Like I even wanted a bloodless solution. The screams of those bastards mean I'm doin' my job just the way I like it. Did you know Moon knew? That they were down there and did nothing? It's easy to kill a dictator, but what about when all their citizens believe the very same things he peddled? How much blood are you willing to spill for your cause, hero? Your grandma clearly saw her limit and left the innocent to rot. Queen of Liberation, my ass. She was a weakling. You want to stop me? Kill me, LihnRour. Be strong. Kill me if you believe yourself to be so 'correct.' Find a way to kill the immortal."

Solara responded, "You know I'm not gonna do that, Robert. I'm not like you. And my grandma was not weak. She should have helped, but I can't go into the past and fix her mistakes. I can only do things in the present."

Robert responded, laughing even more. "HAHAHA. And that's where you're wrong the most. Me and you are the same. The oppressed look up at us and see hope. They see… the Sun. You may be Queen, but I am King. Our names bounce off the buildings below us, Solara. Do you not understand? I'm the one with glasses, but it seems like you're the only one here who is blind."

Solara angrily responded, "The lightless down there need a savior, and you don't deserve that position. All you are is a blood-hungry monster using this as an excuse. We have long past the results excusing the means. Too much innocent blood is seeping into the concrete."

Robert sarcastically responded, "Innocent. We really need to figure out what that word means, don't we, Solara? And blood-hungry monster? Is that what you think of me? What makes you… comfortable… Princess? Can't sleep at night if I'm something else?"

Robert stared down Solara, looking her straight in the eyes, unflinching, with an ear-to-ear grin on his face. He watched her composed look turn more and more angered.

He let out one last line. "Careful with your emotions, girl. I know the power reacts to them. Ya might… kill me. Hahaha."

Solara, through her anger, responded sternly, "I won't."

The two of them readied their bodies, and they rushed each other as Solara started the hardest fight of her life.

Solara summoned her sword into her hand. It was the same blade her mother used to liberate the world of Luminaria all those years ago. Robert activated the bloodtrait he stole from Megara, and floating monsters wrapped in mummy binds rose from the ground and rushed Solara. She tensed her body and closed her eyes. When they got close to her, she cut them both down in one fell swoop. She felt the pressure behind her change. She opened her eyes and kicked behind her, with Robert catching her foot. He activated a stolen lightning bloodtrait and sent shocks throughout her body. At the same time, he lifted her up in the air while doing this and smashed her through the building they were standing on.

As Solara regained her senses, she looked up and shot an energy blast from her hand as Robert fell down. The blast took a chunk out of his side, but it regenerated instantaneously. Robert did not feel pain due to another bloodtrait he had copied. As he was not slowed down by the blast Solara hit him with, she rolled and used her wings to get back on her feet as Robert slammed down on the floor, staring her down. He punched the ground and exploded the area around them, causing debris to go flying everywhere.

Solara thought to herself, *Oh no. That's gonna go and harm too many.*

Solara focused her power to create clones as she sent them out to move sentients out of the way, block debris, and other things. As she was distracted with her consciousness spread across so many clones, Robert rushed her, compounding power into his fist and striking her right in the stomach with such force that all the glass around them in a mile-long area shattered. This strike caused her to go flying through several buildings. As she finally stopped, she vomited out blood and tried to catch her breath. Her ribs were cracked, and breathing was starting to get painful.

She looked around her and saw that a building was about to fall on a group of evacuating Godlings. With superhuman speed, she rushed over and caught the building. She looked over at them with a smile while she held up the building.

"Hey, don't worry. Everything is okay. I'm here."

The worried looks on the group lightened. But Solara blinked, and suddenly they were gone. Only a red mist was left where they stood. Her pupils narrowed as she felt sick to her stomach. Before she got the chance to look around to see which of Robert's allies did that, she was struck by a sonic blast from another bloodtrait Robert copied, rupturing her eardrums and causing blood to flow from them as she started to lose balance and fell onto one knee. With a gravity bloodtrait he copied, he increased the gravity in the area, causing the building to collapse around her.

Robert went into the rubble and grabbed Solara by her neck. He said to her as she struggled to escape, "Oh man. Did I really think that would be a much harder fight? You lost focus and tried to save those beasts. It's sad. Truly sad. I at least thought it would be more fun."

As he continued to speak, Solara turned the blood and spit in her mouth into acid and spat it into Robert's eyes, partially blinding him for a few moments. This also caused him to drop her. As she fell, she used her blade to cut at his chest. And with the open wound she created, she placed her hand on his chest and blew up his blood. Stunning him for a few more moments as she enhanced her body with her bloodtrait, punching him over and over again.

Robert eventually gained his vision again. As he looked around him, he was surrounded by clones Solara created that launched out energy whips towards him, tying down every single part of his body.

As Robert struggled to move and get out of his bindings, with a smile on his face, he screamed out, "Oh, you foolish girl! Trying to simply bind me? When I said you would have to KILL ME!!!"

Robert, with a copied bloodtrait, forced his body to explode. And with the gravity power he copied, he then raised the gravity in the area so Solara wouldn't be able to maneuver quickly to get him. Although as he looked around quickly, he didn't see her. Then he looked up, and with the force of the heightened gravity, she used the force she gained from it to smash his head into the ground.

As the gravity power turned off as she punched him into the floor, with both her hands she lifted him in the air, filled her hands with unstable energy, and unloaded all of it onto his body. As he flew back, she made a gust of wind violently blow him back towards her as she struck him again, using him like a yo-yo for a couple of moments. Although while she wasn't looking, he managed to get enough composure to summon another mummy monster that punched Solara so hard it fractured her skull and sent her flying through the building next to them.

As Robert gained his composure back, he screamed out towards her, "When someone states they don't like to be played with, making them a yo-yo counts, you sky rat."

Robert encased his arms and hands with arcane energy, giving both his hands this blade-type shape. While this happened, though, white feathers started to float down from the sky. Robert, confused, looked at them. And as he blinked, they exploded, and Solara rushed out of the crater in the building she was in. She focused all the energy she could on her left arm and hand, rushed Robert, and struck him in the chest with all the force she had.

As the smoke cleared, she looked up and saw her hand in his concave chest. With blood flowing from Robert's mouth, he said, "Not even a scratch on me."

He then lifted his foot and stomped it into hers, breaking it. Then he focused some of the arcane energy into his knee and struck her again in the stomach. This time the force broke multiple of her ribs, with some of them puncturing her lungs. She vomited out blood and had the wind knocked out of her. With the little focus she had, she created a clone to strike him across the face and another for her to swap places with.

They stood a few feet from each other, Solara still discombobulated. She looked around her, and everything was fuzzy. With her ruptured eardrums, there was now a perpetual ringing in her ear, screwing with her balance. Her recovery from getting staggered was also getting harder and harder now with punctured lungs. She didn't have much time left she could fight this without leaving herself with permanent injuries.

She readied her sword and stared Robert down as he prepared the arcane blades around his arms. They stared each other down and then rushed at each other, breaking the sound barrier. When the blades clashed, it caused such a shock wave that everything not bolted to the ground in the area around them went flying.

Their blades clashed over and over again, with sparks flying in the air. Each and every slash from both sides glided through the air as if there was no resistance, causing strikes so loud that it sounded like bombs were dropping in the area. They slashed at each other over and over again, although neither being able to get a cut deeper than about a centimeter each time. Although the longer these clashes happened, the harder it was on Solara's body. Pain surged from her body, each movement laced with her own blood. She got slower and slower and slower. Her strikes became sloppier, and she couldn't reach Robert's return slashes as well.

Robert saw this and started to mock her. "Oh, come on, Queen of the Lacrimosa. This is not the performance I expected from you. You're getting slower. You're getting weaker. You can't protect your damn self. How do you expect to protect anybody else? Wittle girl need some rest? Wittle girl getting tired? Don't worry. You'll sleep soon enough."

Solara stepped back but landed on her broken foot, putting all her weight on it, causing her to wince and stumble. Robert took this moment and stabbed one of the arcane blades right through her abdomen.

Solara reeled forward and held the blade as blood flowed from her mouth onto the floor. Her vision blurred, and her body felt tingly as she tried to muster up force to destroy the blade but wasn't able to. Robert removed it from her abdomen, grabbed her by the throat, and brought the both of them into the sky. Solara struggled and tried to get herself away from him but was unable to.

As he flew them up, he threw her onto the roof of one of the few still-standing tall buildings. He started talking to Solara as she actively froze her wound with her bloodtrait and tried to heal herself.

Robert saw her doing this. His eyes dropped, and so did his smile. "Look at yourself. You've run yourself dry. All this for bastards who don't deserve the oxygen they breathe anyways. I know you'd never help me, but at least you should have stayed out of my way."

Robert used the gravity power he copied to push her near the edge of the building and continued talking.

"Do you smell that? It's metallic. Rotten. Burning corpses riddle the streets. Blood stains the walls. And hell is about to be overrun with the amount of souls that are about to be there. If you were home, maybe you could have saved them."

Solara, who at this point was going in between conscious and unconscious, heard that. The spike of adrenaline it gave her woke her up, and she managed to say, "What? Saved who at home? What are you talking about?"

Robert responded somberly, "Why do you think no backup has come? Syzygy is the epicenter of knowledge of all reality. The LihnRour family studied here. Do you think that kingdom would just abandon this place in its time of need for so long? Of course not. Indo is keeping them busy. I've heard some knights and others have already died. Mugan and Athena, their names were. I've seen them with you before. Aren't those your… teachers?"

Solara's heart fell to her stomach hearing him say that. Through the pain, she stood up and tried to strike him, but he just dodged her attack and punched her in the chest, causing her to gasp for air. Causing even more pain for her punctured lungs, basically crippling her.

Robert looked at her and grabbed her by her hair and showed her the city of Syzygy being burned to the ground while her friends and family that were here with her tried their best to stop it.

Robert continued talking. "You could have been home right now, laying in bed with your boyfriend Wayne. Luner could have been home with his wife. But now you don't know if he's dead or alive. Those vital sensors you have for everyone are showing that Katty is struggling to keep a consistent heart rate. Looks like someone finally caught the fly. And tell me—when was the last time you heard the songbird sing? The play of Cressida's guitar? And look at Natic over there, struggling his hardest to fight and keep the bastards around him safe. Poor guy is trying so hard to make up for what he's done."

Robert looked over at Solara struggling so badly. "You have thrown away the lives of those you love for strangers who already deserve to be dead. Is it really worth it? Are your morals and sense of duty worth those you love? Who love you? I have no one to go home to. No one is going to miss me when I'm dead. They're all gone by now. But you're different. So much love to give. So much love to receive. And instead, you're in the street fighting for demons while risking those you treasure. Is it really worth it, Queen of the Lacrimosa? I feel bad for Soul and Echo. Died for nothing. Only to annoy me. You all seem to have forgotten who I am."

Then suddenly, Solara started screaming incredibly loudly. Her body shined brightly—incredibly brightly. And then it let out a blast so bright and so strong it stunned everyone in the city for a moment and obliterated the building Solara and Robert were standing on.

As Solara fell to the floor, the force of the blast was so hard on her already falling apart body that her heart stopped beating. So with her last moments of consciousness, she used her bloodtrait to manually pump her heart and the blood through her body.

Suddenly, she felt nothing. Every movement felt light, as if nothing was stopping her. It seemed her nervous system had been overloaded. She couldn't feel anything anymore.

She still stumbled as she stood, but as the dust settled, she looked over at Robert. With blood spraying out with every word, she said, "I don't care who you are. I don't care why you're here. I don't care how strong or how fast you are. I decide the future. You won't get another tomorrow."

Robert heard her say that and started to laugh. He screamed, "Yes. YEES! FINALLY! YA MIGHT MAKE THIS DAMN THING INTERESTING! WELL THEN, PUT YOUR MONEY WHERE YA MOUTH IS! COME AT ME, QUEEN OF THE LACRIMOSA!"